ACLU of New Hampshire v. CBP, No. 1:19-cv-00977 (D.N.H., filed Sept. 17, 2019)

In early 2019, the ACLU of New Hampshire (ACLU-NH) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) after obtaining documents that described plainclothes CBP officers as far as 100 miles from the border in New Hampshire driving in unmarked cars, following people around, and “asking probing questions” without identifying themselves. This practice enabled CBP to apprehend and detain many noncitizens in New Hampshire. ACLU-NH submitted a FOIA request for information pertaining to how CBP officers identified individuals who could potentially be undocumented immigrants in New Hampshire, but CBP did not respond adequately. Therefore, in September 2019, ACLU-NH filed a lawsuit in pursuit of the information detailed in the FOIA request.

Plaintiff filed an amended complaint in December 2019. The government filed its answer in May 2020. In August 2021, Plaintiff moved to compel CBP to produce an adequate Vaughn Index. Defendant opposed this motion in November 2021. In February 2022, the District Court partially granted Plaintiff’s motion. Defendant filed a supplemental response renewing its objections in March 2022. Plaintiff subsequently dismissed the case after receiving the names of the other agencies involved in the roving patrols.

• Complaint
• Original FOIA request (Complaint Ex. A)
• Amended Complaint
• Answer
• Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Adequate Vaughn Index
• Defendant’s Objection to Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Adequate Vaughn Index 
• Order Partially Granting Plaintiff’s Motion Compel
• Defendant’s Supplemental Response

Counsel: SangYeob Kim, Gilles R. Bissonnette, Henry R. Klementowicz, ACLU of New Hampshire

Contact: SanYeob Kim | ACLU-NH | 603-333-2081 | sangyeob@aclu-nh.org